stick with the OXO (that’s what I use). Otherwise, the Salter
Aquatronic wins.
- Digital Timer/Stopwatch
Did you know that in restaurant kitchens, croutons are the
number-one item most burnt by line cooks?§ I can’t tell you
the number of times I’ve popped a tray of sliced bread in the
oven for crostini only to pull it out thirty minutes later after
it sets off the smoke alarm.
At least I used to.
These days, I keep a Polder 3 in 1 Timer, Clock, and
Stopwatch ($13.95) around my neck at all times. It’s got an
easy-to-read display, an unobtrusive size, intuitive buttons, a
loud alarm, a magnet for sticking it to the fridge, and a
nylon lanyard for keeping it around your neck, so there’s no
way you can forget about your roasting peppers, even if you
leave the kitchen. With both count-up and count-down
functions, what more could you want in a kitchen timer? - Immersion Blender
Really? some of you might be saying. You’d really say that
your immersion blender is more important than your food
processor or mixer? Well, if you rate importance by
frequency of use, then absolutely. I use my immersion
blender so frequently that I have it mounted on a holster on
the wall right next to my stove and cutting board, ready at a
moment’s notice to emulsify a sauce, whip up a batch of
mayonnaise, roughly puree some whole canned tomatoes
directly in the pot, blend a cheese sauce, puree soup, whip
cream in no time flat . . . you get the picture. It’s a versatile